Electoral bonds: A look at top buyers, other key numbers
top bond buyers along with an examination of some of the other key numbers that have emerged from the initial data dump.
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The top buyer of electoral bonds is Coimbatore-based Future Gaming & Hotel Services, founded in 1991 by Santiago Martin. The group bought electoral bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore between April 12, 2019, and January 24, 2024.
The website of Martin Charitable Trust hails him as a “lottery king” who “built nothing into an empire”. The lottery conglomerate also has interests in the real estate, hospitality and textiles sectors in India and Myanmar. After then chief minister J Jayalalithaa banned lottery business in Tamil Nadu in 2003, Martin took his business outside the state, including online.
He began operating through subsidiaries, such as Martin Karnataka and Martin Sikkim Lottery. The group has established its presence in 13 states where lottery is legal, including Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal. The company has more than 1,000 employees and reported a turnover of Rs 20,000 crore in its annual report for 2021-22.
Martin has had run-ins with the Enforcement Directorate and the Income-Tax Department for more than a decade. Most recently, Punjab-based lottery distributor Arunjot Singh Sodhi moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August 2023, alleging a Rs 900 crore lottery scam in the state. Martin was also arrested in 2012 and detained in Vellore prison for alleged illegal activities.
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